Identity theft and fraud

Identity theft and fraud

Take steps to identify theft and fraud, and to identity the illegal "entry points" before money damages soar. Learn what the bad guys do and proven counter-moves.

ID theft and fraud reflects advances in the criminal mindset. Nearly 10 million Americans have been impacted by identity theft and fraud since 2000. Crime rates for identity theft and fraud have exploded by nearly 80% in the 2002 to 2003 reporting period. Criminals who carry out identity theft and fraud against innocent people are generally sophisticated in their knowledge of information technology related to electronic accounts, public record data bases, and the typical operating systems utilized within the credit industry.

With identity theft identity fraud on the increase, it's important that consumers learn the game and strategies used by villains. In order to critically assess your exposures to identity theft identity fraud you need to initially ask " what is it that I own or possess that has value and can be transferred without my knowledge and approval?" Remarkably, what identity theft criminals seek to steal is "you", an aspect most people rarely consider as a transferable essence. Working counter-intuitively, the identity theft criminal seeks tracking and identity source data points such as your name, address, credit card number, social security number, your mother's maiden name, your pets' names, your children's names and ages, PIN personal identification numbers, passwords for computer data base access, your birth date and related personal and allegedly confidential information critical to pulling off a short term identity theft and fraud scheme.

ID theft and fraud takes multiple forms, however broadly follows two core pathways in terms of criminal execution. The first identity theft and fraud pathway involves direct theft of personal possessions such as a handbag or wallet containing credit card, insurance and health plan information, social security number details or related personal information. Additional direct sources of "material" for identity theft and theft can include stealing your incoming mail, or sifting through your "garbage" in search of financial account statements, credit card bills and so on, bearing a rich lode of personal data.

The identity theft fraudster moves quickly and efficiently. Utilizing your personal data, the ID theft fraudster can effortlessly open new credit card or related credit facilities, knowing full well that the credit industry does not maintain identity theft prevention protocols of any true significance. Presto, the identity theft and fraud begins. Not surprisingly, the identity theft criminal plunders your credit resources rapidly, creating and draining mortgage accounts, fraudulently "buying" merchandise and services from unsuspecting merchants while utilizing your name and credit.

When do the 10 million Americans hit by identity theft identity fraud find out? Unless individuals are daily tuned-in to their financial accounts, most people randomly discover months or even years later that they've become an identity theft victim, when strange and confusing credit card billing statements arrive, or when aggressive debt collection agencies suddenly appear demanding payment or else. In over 80% of identity theft and fraud cases, consumers rather than financial institutions are first to discover the crime.

Only one in seven hundred identity theft criminals gets caught and prosecuted, so it's quickly becoming a major concern for the credit industry, which is taking up to $48 billion in direct losses to identity theft and fraud in 2003.

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